All you need to know about visiting Uckfield in East Sussex

Uckfield High Street (Image: Andrew Hasson)

HIGH STREET

Uckfield came into being originally as a staging post for pilgrims travelling the route between Canterbury, Lewes and Chichester. Nowadays, the centre of town sits just off the junction of the A22 London to Eastbourne road, and the A26 Lewes to Tunbridge Wells road, while the old pilgrim route is now more commonly known as the A272. This is the High Street, still managing to survive despite recent setbacks including the pandemic. 

Bridge Cottage is a Wealden House built in 1436 (Image: Andrew Hasson)

BRIDGE COTTAGE

The oldest building in Uckfield, Bridge Cottage, at the bottom of the High Street, is a Wealden Hall house built in 1436. It’s a pretty sizeable property for those days, so the owner must have been a very important and powerful member of the community, though their identity has been lost in the annals of time. The Uckfield and District Preservation Society now run Bridge Cottage as a heritage centre, wedding venue, market hall and meeting centre. Unbelievably, back in the 1980s, the building was very nearly pulled down.  

The Picture House was named Cinema of the Year in 2018 (Image: Andrew Hasson)

 
THE CINEMA

The Picture House is a fantastic three-screen independent cinema at the top of the High Street, housed in a beautiful building dating from 1916. It was named Cinema of the Year in 2018.  

The Station Pub still has its flood defences half erected to protect it from flooding (Image: Andrew Hasson)
THE STATION PUB

 Part of the town, closest to the River Uck, has been prone to flooding many times over the years. The last time was in 2007. Flood defences are better now than they have ever been, but people still don’t forget. Here you can see the semi-permanent barriers erected to protect The Station pub. 

The Old Fire Station clock carries a very special tribute (Image: Andrew Hasson)

THE OLD FIRE STATION

The Old Fire Station in Keld Avenue, just off the road to Blackboys, was built in 1937 by the firm of Durrant Bros. Shortly before completion, the company’s owner, George Thomas Durrant, collapsed and died in Chichester. The clock in the centre of the building doesn’t have numbers. Instead, it has letters spelling out his name. Starting at 11 o’clock reading clockwise, you can see IMO (in memory of) and then, starting at 10 o’clock reading anti-clockwise, GT DURRANT. Quite a tribute. 

The Old Water Tower is now a unique des res (Image: Andrew Hasson)

THE WATER TOWER 

The Old Water Tower on Browns Lane in Manor Park is now a residential property, but it still maintains its charm, especially when it catches the light at dusk.  

These iron markers show how many miles it is from Uckfield to the site of the Bow Bells in London (Image: Andrew Hasson)

IRON MILE MARKERS

If you look hard enough around the town, you’ll find quite a few of these things - iron markers indicating how many miles it is to St Mary-le-Bow Church on Cheapside in London - the site of the famous Bow Bells.  

The late Queen used to visit the church when she visited Little Horsted just outside Uckfield (Image: Andrew Hasson)

ST MICHAEL AND ALL SAINTS CHURCH 

he parish church of St Michael and All Saints is in Little Horsted, just outside the town, on the road to Lewes. Like most churches in our county, the actual building has had bits knocked down and rebuilt over the years. It is certainly unusual, having a traditional square bell-tower but with a circular pointed tower on one corner. When the Queen and Prince Philip were on one of their regular visits to Horsted Place, this was the church they would walk to and worship in. 

The discovery of Piltdown man was a hoax (Image: Andrew Hasson)

PILTDOWN MAN 

The Piltdown Man pub on the A272 celebrates the ‘discovery’, in 1912, of an early type of man from 500,000 years ago. It turned out to be a hoax made from the lower jaw of an orang-utan and the skull of an underdeveloped man. The hoaxer’s identity remains unknown, although Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s name is on the list of suspects.   

LOCAL RESIDENTS

Sue Carey (Image: Andrew Hasson)

 
Sue Carey: ‘I really like the fact that we are equidistant from Tunbridge Wells, Lewes and Eastbourne. It’s pretty handy. I’ve been here since the 1960s and I do enjoy the town. We’re not far from the country, Ashdown Forest is great. We still have a reasonable mix of shops; dress shops, shoe shops, independent shops, and two big supermarkets. There’s a relatively new fish shop, so that’s good.’  

This property originally appeared in The Argus's sister title Sussex Life, click here to subscribe. You can pick up copies at shops and businesses and read the website here

Jeff Holman (Image: Andrew Hasson)

Jeff Holman: ‘There’s a lot of community activities going on here. We have the Lions Club, the Rotary Club, the Uckfield and District Preservation Society, which looks after Bridge Cottage, our 15th century building at the bottom of the High Street. We have the carnival which is very active, a bonfire society and there’s a thriving junior football team for boys and girls. I have grandchildren who play in both of those. It’s a nice little town.’